My visit to a Catholic church
Growing up, my family never practiced any religion. My parents educated me on what religion was and why certain people practice certain religions, and basically left it up to me to figure out what religious path, if any, I would want for myself, as I grew older. As a child of the public school system in Philadelphia, I have had Jewish friends, Muslim friends, Catholic friends, and even friends like myself who have had no religious affiliation. I have been to numerous Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Communion parties, and even a couple of different religious weddings. When assigned to attend a religious service not of my own faith, I had some options but decided to take my neighbor Rita up on her offer to allow me to be a guest at her church in South Philadelphia, Epiphany of Our Lord, on one Sunday morning. Epiphany of Our Lord, located at 13th and Jackson streets, was this beautiful building filled with huge stained glass windows and statues of Saints on the outside. As we entered the church, there was a marble bowl filled with holy water. Rita dipped her finger into the water and blessed herself by making the sign of the cross on her forehead, lips, and heart. She showed me how to do the same, an
Some were more dressed than others, but the overall dress attire was casual. " The service had three readings from the bible. Another member of the church read the second reading, and a second song followed. Christmas and Easter are the two main holidays in the Catholic faith, but there are numerous Saint feast days and holy days as well. Following the homily, Father began to prepare Communion, which is known to Catholics as the body and blood of Christ. A couple of other songs were song, and the members of the church recited the "Our Father" prayer. d we entered the church and found a seat. As the members of the church sang the second song, they stood up from their seats and Father read the last reading, which was called the gospel. Soon after, Father instructed everyone to give each of their neighbor the sign of peace in which we did so by shaking the hands of the people around us. Men and women of all ages and races were seated together, and some were kneeling and praying, even before the service started. Those who received Communion then returned to their seats to kneel and pray. In his homily (as it is called in the Catholic church), Father talked about peace and the war in Iraq. Two altar boys dressed in red and white garments carrying a cross and a bible made their way down the center of the church towards the altar, followed by Father Calabro, the priest for this service. He mentioned how sometimes this country tends to forget how lucky they have it, referring to freedom of religion. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Epiphany of Our Lord with Rita.
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